A first aspect of this invention pertains to grave monuments containing components that perform an information-bearing or decorative function rather than a structural function. Grave monuments which contain non-structural elements are well known to those skilled in the art. Thus, by way of illustration and not limitation, reference may be had to U.S. Pat. No. D259,369 of Splendora (which discloses a transparent monument containing a decorative object within it), U.S. Pat. No. D310,419 of Morvant (which discloses a permanent photographic memorial marker), and U.S. Pat. No. 3,938,286 of Mochinski (which discloses a grave marker comprised of a LUCITE (TM) block), U.S. Pat. No. 3,962,836 of Carnes et al. (which discloses a grave marker with a transparent cover), U.S. Pat. No. 4,058,940 of McBrayer (which discloses a monument marker comprised of a clear plastic outer laminate), U.S. Pat. No. 4,202,144 of Patterson (which discloses a cemetery monument), U.S. Pat. No. 4,227,325 of Whitford (which discloses a grave marker comprised of a cylindrical chamber within which is mounted a picture), U.S. Pat. No. 4,259,381 of Narita (which discloses an ornament for burial monuments which contains a transparent body), U.S. Pat. No. 4,304,076 of Splendora (which discloses a transparent monument), U.S. Pat. No. 4,337,109 of Narita (which discloses a process for preparing a burial ornament), U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,428,168 and 4,428,169 of Tomer (which disclose a permanent floral decoration for use on grave sites), U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,537 of Smith (which discloses a grave monument), and the like. The disclosure of each of these United States patents is hereby incorporated by reference into this patent application.
To the best of applicant's knowledge, very few of the prior art publications relating to monuments disclose monuments with one or more movable elements affixed to them. Disclosures of such monuments may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,455,772 of Miller (which discloses a monument comprised of a sliding transparent panel), U.S. Pat. No. 4,463,527 of Schlosser (which discloses a grave marker with a removable cover), and U.S. Pat. No. 5,014,472 of Svensson (which discloses a tombstone with a openable inscription plate).
None of the prior art references discloses a monument with a movable element which can, at the option of the visitor, display selected portions of a relatively large amount of text information.
To the best of applicant's knowledge, there are also no prior art publications that disclose information-bearing elements for monuments that display other than text information or sculpted relief images.
It is an object of this invention to provide a monument with a rotatable element.
It is another object of this invention to provide a monument with a movable element which can display a relatively large amount of information such as text.
It is another object of this invention to provide a monument with an interactive movable element which requires a visitor to move such element to have all of its contents fully disclosed to him or her.
It is another object of this invention to provide a monument with a movable element, which contains a substantially large amount of usable information-bearing surface area.
A second aspect of this invention pertains to columbariums. Columbariums provide long term storage for urns holding cremated human remains. Typical columbariums are disclosed, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,614,066 and 5,195,812.
Columbariums generally have a number of small holding chambers, also known as niches, which each hold an urn and sometimes more than one urn. The niches are generally arranged in banks and with stone facing added to create a dignified appearance.
To the best of applicant's knowledge, none of the prior art publications relating to columbariums disclose columbariums with one or more movable elements affixed to them. Nor does the prior art disclose columbariums with one or more movable elements that are recessed so as not to extend beyond the front face of the columbarium.
It is an object of this invention to provide a columbarium with a rotatable element.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a columbarium with a rotatable element that is recessed so as not to extend beyond the front face of the columbarium.
A third aspect of the invention pertains to monuments, markers and columbariums which display non-verbal information. Such structures are known in the art but the non-verbal indicia are usually formed as sculpted relief images.
It is an object of this invention to provide monuments, markers and columbariums that display non-verbal imprinted images made by casting a shape.
It is a further object of this invention to provide monuments, markers and columbariums that display imprinted images made by casting body parts such as hands, feet, etc. of a deceased individual.
A fourth aspect of this invention pertains to metallic markers such as those that are designed to mount flush to the ground. A limitation of prior art designs is that only a limited amount of information can be cast into such markers do to the nature of the casting process.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved metallic marker that is adapted for displaying both summary information and more detailed information than would be possible using prior art casting techniques.